The Foreign Correspondents’ Association of Ethiopia (FACE) remains deeply concerned about continuing threats to press freedom in Ethiopia, which include the recent 24-hour detention of three accredited journalists.
Three journalists working in the Arsi Negele area of Oromia region in Ethiopia were detained by authorities for over 24 hours on August 8th and 9th, marking a continuation of obstructions to press freedom in the Horn of Africa nation.

Africa News Agency (ANA) correspondent Hadra Ahmed, who was working as a fixer and translator, and visiting journalists from the U.S. Public Broadcasting Service (PBS), Fred de Sam Lazaro and Thomas Adair, were interviewing farmers about drought- and aid-related issues. They were working with international non-profit Catholic Relief Services. The Shashemene area experienced anti-government demonstrations on August 6 that led to the deaths of protesters. The group was asked to go to nearby Shashemene town police station on Monday afternoon by authorities. Their passports and all equipment were confiscated and the group was told to return to Addis Ababa, Ethiopia’s capital. The detainees traveled to Addis Ababa under police escort on August 9th and were released by the National Intelligence and Security Services on Tuesday evening after a further 6 hours of interrogation.

They were given no explanation for the detention. They were told not to do reporting outside of Addis Ababa. Officials from the Government Communications Affairs Office, which accredited the journalists, were aware of the situation but unable to secure a quick release. Arbitrary detentions, which typically last for a few hours, are a common impediment for journalists in Ethiopia.

A TRUE POLITICIAN’S PRICELESS QUALITIES

PASSION & A SENSE OF RESPONSIBILITY & PROPORTION.

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QUOTATION FOR THE AGES

"When they [government officials] first came they told us an investor was coming and we would develop the land alongside one another. They didn't say the land would be taken away from us entirely. I don't understand why the government took the land."

Farmer Gemechu Garbaba

His wife adds:

"Since the land was taken away from us we are impoverished. Nothing has gone right for us, since these investors came."